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800-year-old church heavily vandalized in French no-go suburb Saint-Denis

March 13, 2019– Mary Greeley News – The over 800-year-old Basilica of Saint-Denis in France was heavily vandalized this week, with vandals smashing stained glass windows and severely damaging the nearly 200-year-old organ.

The destruction was discovered on Sunday morning by the basilica’s organist, who found that the engine of the organ had been damaged along with other parts of the massive instrument, designed between 1834 and 1841, Le Parisien reports.

Saadia Tamelikecht, head of the departmental unit of architecture and heritage of the heavily migrant-populated Seine-Saint-Denis suburbs, said the damage to the instrument, which has been recognized as a historic monument of significance in France, was major.

The vandalism was likely done, according to Tamelikecht, as a result of someone hiding within the instrument and smashing their way out.

In Strasbourg, the Saint-Louis church was again vandalized: – altar cloths torn off – Easter candle and statue overturned – fire extinguishers emptied on the benches and walls – … According to a journalist from France 3, this vandalism is "probably a big mistake"

On Tuesday, even more damage was discovered, with two stained glass windows having been smashed along with two locks that had been pried open. The windows were created in the 19th century, rebuilt after the destruction of the French revolution. Police say they are investigating the incidents.

The vandalism comes just under a year after the Basilica was stormed by far-left activists and illegal migrants who occupied the place of worship to protest a law directed at curbing illegal migration into France.

The acts of vandalism are just the latest to affect a Christian place of worship in France. Last month the country saw nine churches desecrated and vandalised in only eleven days with tabernacles overthrown, fires lit, and in one case in Nîmes, faeces smeared on the walls.

The series of incidents provoked an outcry from many including Cardinal Robert Sarah, the prefect of the Vatican Congregation of Divine Worship.

According to FBI hate crime statistics, yes. They account for 58% of religious based hate crimes, with the close second being Muslims at 18%. That is quite a disparity. Synagogues and cemeteries are vandalized regularly. Sadly, few realize as it rarely makes national news.